1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color image processing device such as a color scanner, and a color image processing method used in the color image processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Color scanners are provided with line image sensors which are respectively formed from a charge coupled device (CCD) for each of the colors, red (R), green (G), and blue (B), wherein the line image sensors are provided in parallel to one another and displaced slightly from one another in a sub scanning direction. In this type of color scanner, since the line image sensors for each of the colors are provided in parallel to one another, the line image sensors cannot physically scan each of the colors on the same line of an original document at the same time. Therefore, a conventional color scanner includes a line memory which delays image data, and by maintaining a delay amount according to a rate of magnification, the color scanner extracts image data from the line memory, and arranges the image data of R, G, B scanned from a line on the same original document. However, according to the rate of magnification, there are cases when the color scanner cannot support image data just by the delay amount of the line. Therefore, there is a technology being proposed to change the time for starting a main scanning operation in accordance with the rate of magnification.
As described above, if the delay amount of the line is changed, and the time for starting the main scanning operation is also changed, the color scanner can support various rates of magnification. However, there is a problem that the circuitry for an image processing device becomes extremely complicated.